Your favourite Australian wines will be kept safe from catastrophic events under a plan to securely store samples of the country's most important grape varieties.
While not kept under 130 metres of permafrost, the collection is a similar concept to the doomsday vault.
Samples of the 25 most valuable varieties and their clones will be kept in conditions that would allow the varieties to resurrect the industry after a catastrophic event.
As growers from Queensland to South Australia struggle through another tough season, it was hoped the collection would protect them from future industry-threatening events.
National Grapevine Collection (NGC) coordinator Nick Dry said the samples would be stored inside a high-security facility.
"You can imagine little grape vines in test tubes inside a lab," he said.
"The beauty of that collection is it's safe from catastrophic environmental conditions but also any pests and diseases."
Mr Dry said duplicate collections would be kept at two different labs to spread the risk.
The collection would be accessed to help rebuild the wine industry if an event, such as catastrophic weather or a pest outbreak, caused the mass destruction of grapevines.
He said the NGC would use existing laboratories and was in talks with multiple sites around Australia to be involved, with the collection expected to be in place by spring 2023.
Protecting resources
Mr Dry said libraries of grapevine varieties, clones, and rootstocks that already existed in Australia would also be coordinated as part of the NGC.
"The idea is to support those collections with increased funding to raise the level of security and ensure that they've got all the protocols in place," he said.
"We are working towards the common goal of protecting our grapevine genetic resources."
These collections will be used for breeding, research, and for nurseries to access cuttings.
Long-term planning
The wine industry contributes $40 billion to the Australian economy each year and Mr Dry said a national collection would help protect its greatest assets.
When planting, growers such as Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi from Ballandean Estate Wines in the Granite Belt in Queensland, anticipated the needs of future generations.
She said with a changing climate, choosing varieties was difficult when the vines could be in the ground for decades.
"When you put a variety in, it's five to 10 years before you're actually harvesting great quality grapes," she said.
"It's a big decision to then have to replant and start again."
Growers struggling with a wetter-than-normal season have faced increased disease risks as well as market pressure after losing China as an export market.
Barossa-based vigneron and Australian Grape and Wine board member Adrian Hoffmann hoped the NGC would give the industry surety for the future.
"We have to have a longer-term view and this project ticks that box, and is effective to a certain degree at future-proofing what we have available," he said.
Mr Hoffmann said it had been a difficult season.
"We're dealing with extremes of climate," he said.
"Growers have to be adaptive to how they're managing their vineyards in the current climate."
The NGC project is being funded by Wine Australia with support in kind from other industry stakeholders.
